Archive | January, 2019

Then and Now

14 Jan

When the girls are four years apart, the heartache occurs four years apart too…

Four years ago, when our firstborn M1 left for the U.S. to further her studies, there was heartache and anxiety. And it took us some time to adjust our lifestyle with one family member less.

Now four years later, history repeats itself.

Last night, our baby, M2 left for Ireland for her studies. And suddenly, we find ourselves having to adjust our lifestyle all over again.

Whether it was four years ago or now, the heartache and anxiety are the same. Sniffle… tears… and more tears.

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My baby’s all grown up!!!

 

 

 

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Wave Mom, Wave

11 Jan

When M1 was still around years ago, both girls had the habit of tuning us out with their headphones on especially during exam week. Typically after dinner, both M1 and M2 would be diligently doing their revision at the dining table with their headphones in place.

It was hard enough for me when they’d do the same in the car, headphones in place and I have to wave to get their attention before speaking. It’s the same at home with this habit of theirs to tune me out and I have to wave.

With M1 away at University and only M2 around, she continued to have her headphones plugged in especially during exam week. And she constantly reminded me that I’d have to wave if I want to say something to her. Can I fault her when doing this was for a good cause, studying for the exams?

M2 may be done with school this year, so no more studying at the dining table but she still has her headphones in place these days to watch her videos instead.

The situation may have changed but some things never change and I will surely miss this habit, waving that is, the day she leaves for college.

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Leader of the Pack

10 Jan

Besides buying hubby a gift for his birthday last month, I also asked him if he would like his own personal Gnome, carved on the same date as his birthday. Of course, being my biggest fan and supporter, he said yes.

But he wanted his Gnome to be different from the rest and this complicated matters. Haish… Why put me in a spot? If it were to be different he would have to wait until his next birthday because I need to develop my characters and this takes time. Can’t just happen overnight, what more on the day itself and not earlier considering it should be a birthday Gnome. Hmm…

So we compromised. Carved on Meranti and not balsa, it dons a golden yellow cap instead of the usual red. And although it’s shorter than the other Meranti Gnomes, it is taller than the balsa Gnomes. Sounds complicated. Nonetheless, he loved it and decided that his Gnome will be the designated leader of the pack. Cute little fella I must say.

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Whale of a Time, Part 2

8 Jan

Carving whales to be smart phone holders are suddenly so passé. It is 2019 now and new characters have taken flight! The latest pod of whales are smaller, rounder and super cute. I find this direction very refreshing but puts the thought process into overdrive and can be very draining at times. My dinosaur brain can’t process that fast, I guess.

With this new direction, the Citizens of Gigglesville have not grown, neither have the Gnomes of Gnomie-wood. It’s okay, I am sure I will get around to the others in due course.

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Being an Adult

7 Jan

The minute M1 turned 18 four years ago, we decided to give her a credit card and this marked another step towards being an adult. I remember when I received my first credit card from Dad, albeit a supplementary one, I felt so important and all grown up.

And it wasn’t just a credit card but an American Express charge card. Even more important I felt back then!

M2 will be turning 18 this year and obviously we will do the same for her soon. My goodness, they grow up too fast, my babies. Sniffle…

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A Glowing Gnome

4 Jan

Sometimes it’s fun to experiment with materials. I have a bottle of glow varnish purchased in the middle of last year and yet to be used on any of my carvings. One evening many moons ago, I couldn’t decide to start a new piece or simply just put the finishing touches on some existing ones. Then I remembered the Gandalf-like purple Gnome has yet to be varnished.

So I decided to give it the glow varnish to have it glow in the dark like some mystical character. But it’s hard to capture the image on my iPhone5S and I left it as is without further experimenting the effects.

Then not too long after that, I purchased a bottle of glitter gloss and I thought this might work better especially during the day. Forget the glow effect at night that might scare the bejesus out of myself.

My giant Gandalf-like purple gnome now sports a glittering beard but subtle.

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Before the add on…

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Glitter on just the beard

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The Bathroom Scale Dilemma

3 Jan

It’s a constant battle with the bathroom scale. We have the trusty old one for years and I swear by it to have a constant.

Last month when I was at the hospital to do my annual medical check up, the clinic’s scale added five unbelievable kilos to my weight. Of course, when I came home, I measured that against our trusty scale to reassure myself that is not the case.

But now things have changed…

Trusty’s accuracy is questionable and does not seem to be so trustworthy after all because there’s a new bathroom scale, a Christmas gift. And this newbie, a digital one, is more accurate down to a decimal point. Because of Newbie, I discovered to my astonishment that Trusty has been ‘lying’ to me all these years!

Newbie shows that I am actually two kilos less than Trusty. I had to blink when I saw the numbers. Eh? The hospital scale showed five extra kilos, now I am two kilos less?

I know I am not good in mental calculation but I can’t be that bad in my Math when I converted the pounds to kilos and vice versa to be sure. Such conflicting numbers. Which bathroom scale should I rely on now? Hmm…

 

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Trusty and Newbie

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A Quiet Beginning

1 Jan

Unlike the nation and the world who ushered in 2019 with revelry, we welcomed the new year without much fanfare. In fact, no fanfare at all. It rained in the evening and spoiled the mood to go out. So we stayed home.

I decided to carved a Whale to usher in the year. Hubby has been down with a cough for several days, hence no alcohol for him, I didn’t feel like drinking or celebrating alone.

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Whale 14 in the making

Sure there were fireworks last night when the clock struck midnight which we could hear and see in the distance but I tuned them all out with my headphones and listened to Beyonce’s Listen, my favorite song.

The night before New Year felt like any other night in the week prior to midnight. And the first day of the new year is no different, a public holiday in the midst of a work week but kinda like a Sunday nothing-doing feeling. A quiet beginning is what it is for us.

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